Sakura Taisen: Shanghai Dragons
by lastfight5
Summary: STAR and Flower divisions had been called for help in China. While this joint force is overkill on paper, in China, enemies are more dangerous than ever before and even more numerous. Fortunately, they were joined by a veteran combat revue known as Shanghai Special Task Force. However, even with this joint force, the battlefield needed more than teamwork and numbers.
1. Episode 0: Chapter 1

? POV

I suddenly woke up by a rock. I found myself with my head on the window of a train. The train is still rolling. Outside the window, the fields covered in snow were passing by.

 _Must been a dream, or a painful memory_ , I thought. I checked the clock. _08_ _:35, December 31st 1931_

I looked out in the fields, reminded me of home. Rice paddy, green hills, just like where I was born. Of course I don't live in the fields, but in the cities, but most of my life revolved around travelling around the countryside, where all the green is. As I stared at the fields longer, the green beautiful fields were flashed with war-torn fields with craters, almost like Europe back in 1916's I saw in pictures, giving me a little headache, so I shook them off.

However, not too long later, I detected someone was beside me.

"So I see that you followed me from Sendai," I said to someone.

"You're just like your father," an old man's voice chuckled to me. I took a glance at the source and expected who it was. An old man who I knew for many years. "Welcome back to Japan."

A train horn sounded.

* * *

 **Episode 0 - Water (** **水)** **, Chapter 1 -The Arrival of the Stars**

Third Person POV

December 31st, 1931

A ship horn sounded as the ship began docking. Inside, a young man was woken up by the sound. He got up from his bunk and rubbed his eyes as he looked out of his port hole. Once he stopped, his eyes widened. Just as that moment, his door slammed opened. A young redhead girls with some cowgirl outfit stood at his doorway, surprising him.

"Hey Shiny! We finally in Japan! Come on!"

"Gemini, wait!" Taiga Shinjiro tried to call out, but realised he's not properly dressed. Quickly, he put on the same kimono he wore when he left Tokyo three years ago and ran after her up decks.

He caught up to her and found his troupe on deck as well.

"You decided to wake up, sleepy head. I almost forgot you were even on this ship," an African-American girl, Cheiron, taunted.

"Don't be like that Cheiron," a frail looking woman, Diana, scolded. "Don't worry, Shin. We arrived at Tokyo."

Shinjiro looked out to see the beautiful city, still the same as he left. "Wow, it's just as I dreamed of Japan," Gemini said, dreamily.

"It sure is beautiful, just like when I left," Shinjiro said, recalling the time when he last saw Ichiro at the docks.

"Hey Shin, do Japan have nice food?" a young girl, now a teenager yet still have the qualities when she was young, Rosita, asked.

Diana was a little shocked and turned and scold her, "Rosita, that's not your first thoughts about-"

"Oh yeah, the food in Japan has very nice delicious food," Shinjiro interrupted. "They taste very delicious. I'm sure Gemini can explain that." Rosita's eyes were sparkling after hearing this.

"Really? Hey Gemini, can you tell me all about it!"

"W-Wait, one at a time," Gemini trying to process everything as she got surprised. Soon after, Cheiron and Diana joined in.

While they were having their own conversation, he noticed another teammate of his, Subaru, a little distant.

"Subaru, what's wrong?"

Subaru snapped open her paper fan and fanned herself, "Just thinking about something."

It was at this point he knew what she was thinking. Based on the information from Ratchet, the other members of the European Hoshigumi were Leni and Orihime, now members of Flower Division. He guessed that she's not looking forward to see them again.

"Hey we pulling into a pier!" Rosita shouted. Shinjiro looked over the deck and saw the ship pulled into a pier.

"Last one off the ship is a rotten egg!" Gemini shouted as she ran off.

"Not fair!" Rosita shouted as she chased after her.

"I'm not rotten," Diana muttered, following behind.

"Hey wait for me!" Cheiron shouted, lagging behind. Subaru silently followed the group.

Shinjiro only sighed, watching his team racing off the deck, "They're still like three years ago."

* * *

Near Noon

 _Where did they go?_ Shinjiro thought to himself. When they landed, he and his team decided to have a sightseeing of Tokyo, including the Ueno Park, which they found beautiful. More than twenty minutes ago, they decided to have something to eat in Chinatown, but for whatever reason, ran off ahead of him, leaving him having to catch up to them. This was not helped by the fact that at this time the district became crowded with people.

 _Oh boy, if I get late, not only I would feel hungry by the time the performance starts, but also Sunnyside would give me a long lecture of the importance of staying as a team. I can't help that,_ Shinjiro thought with worry.

"Shinjiro, is that you?" someone called him.

Shinjiro turned to the voice and was surprised to see someone. In front of him was a woman, wearing a familiar red and pink kimono, with red bow holding her dark hair. However, this woman seem to make him dig through his memories. Finally he remembered who she was. "You're Sakura?"

She only giggled at him, "Of it is, Shinjiro. Don't you recognise me?"

Shinjiro had nothing to say except laugh at his own obliviousness. "It's been three or four years since I saw you."

"I see," Sakura replied as she stopped and give him a warm smile, "Well then Shinjiro, welcome back."

Shinjiro only smiled back, "It's good to be back."

"So nephew, how is your team treating you?" Sakura asked. However, Shinjiro was confused, not because of the question, but by the name she called him.

"Nephew? Wait, you married to my uncle?"

Sakura giggled again at her nephew clueless of her relationship, "Of course I am silly, didn't you remember your uncle gave you the letter months ago?"

Shinjiro tried to remember it and finally had his light blinking, "Oh that's right, you two were married, but I kinda forgot because I'm in a mess."

"Being a leader is hard isn't it?"

"Oh yeah, totally. My team are a weird bunch. Half the time they treat me like a leader, the other half being a chew toy."

"Just like your uncle," Sakura giggled. Shinjiro only followed her laugh.

"Speaking of my uncle, where is he now?" Shinjiro asked.

Sakura smile dropped at the mention of his uncle. Shinjiro was puzzled by this sudden change of emotion. "Well, your uncle's went to Europe to help set up. He won't be back for a very long time."

Shinjiro only looked on as his heart sank with this news, disappointed he won't be able to see him again, "Oh... well looks like he will be gone for some time." When he refocused on Sakura, he saw her looking away, with a different expression and muttering to herself.

"As long as Erica don't do anything funny with him."

"What was that, Sakura?" he asked, resulting her to look back at him, with her cheeks red as strawberry.

"Oh nothing." She quickly changed her expression to warm smile, "By the way, you should be calling me obasan, though that only make me sound like an old woman."

"You're not really an old woman. You're just as young as three years ago."

Both of them laughed, until the two noticed people started running in one direction. "What's going on?" Shinjiro asked to himself.

"Shiny!" someone called him, making both turn towards the source. "Where have you been?"

Shinjiro found Gemini running towards him, "Gemini, where have you and everyone else been?"

"We got trouble at a teashop! They say a triad is preying on someone!" Gemini explained, looking a bit distressed while at the same time a bit excited. She took off again, this time following the crowd. "Come on!"

"This isn't good. I knew a triad operate around Chinatown, always looking for trouble. What are they doing now?" Sakura said to herself, not at least surprised.

"Well, let's take a look," Shinjiro insisted, as both chase after Gemini.

* * *

"Hey you, you're on our table!" a man who seemed to be a leader shouted at someone. This loud noise caught the attention of everyone around. The scene was three men converging on someone, wearing straw hat and Chinese-style clothing for male. Beside him was his bag and what looks like a pole with cloth on it. The three men were known to be triads who always looking for trouble for fun.

At the same time a crowd had formed, with Shinjiro and Sakura caught up with Gemini, as well as Shinjiro's team.

"Hey Shin, where were you? For being a leader of our team, you sure are slow," Cheiron teased him.

"Sorry. Anyway, what's going on?" Shinjiro asked.

"It's them again," an older man responded. Shinjiro turned to face him and recognise who it was.

"Kayama? How did you get here to Tokyo?" Shinjiro asked, a bit shocked. Sakura was a bit shocked as well.

"I just tagged along. Anyway, have you ever heard of any radical groups since the beginning of Showa era?" Kayama asked in a serious tone.

"No, I never heard of it."

"He means them who are pro-military and ultra-nationalistic. Not a very good thing for anyone not from Japan," Sakura answered.

"Pretty much. Hey the show's starting," Kayama stopping the discussion as they watched the scene.

In response, the straw hatted man moved to the next table, taking his cup and his stuff.

"That's our table as well!" the leader shouted. By now, the other two snickered.

Responding to this, the straw hatted man finished his tea and spoke up, but in a very different language. Shinjiro couldn't recognise it as Japanese, English or even Chinese.

"That's not what you think, Shin. He's not speaking in Mandarin, but Cantonese," Kayama explained.

"Cantonese?" Shinjiro asked, genuinely didn't know that language.

"Another form of Chinese. I can go on with this lesson, but right now, it seemed like he's in a lot of trouble."

Hearing this, Shinjiro grabbed his hilt of his katana, "Should we help him?"

A hand suddenly gripped on his shoulder, shocking Shinjiro. Behind him was a man in his suit, Michael Sunnyside, Shinjiro's manager.

"I wouldn't intervene. He can deal it himself," Sunnyside said, stopping the young man. Shinjiro wanted to respond, but the scene drew him away. Reluctantly, he ease the tension of his hand on his katana.

"What was that, Chinese monkey. I can't understand what you say."

The straw hatted man turned towards the leader, but not looking at him directly. He opened his mouth, this time speaking their language, "I said for three people like you fatties, two tables are still big."

A few people in the crowd gasped at the response. Shinjiro was horrified at the man's insult. This remark was a door opened for fight.

"Well aren't you a smartass who thinks the world revolves around you. Thinking your smart, but you're an idiot, just like all your Chinese people. You Chinese are no good for Asia and the world as a whole," the leader made a comeback, with his two followers jeered at the Chinese.

"I don't want to make any trouble, but you seem to have a giant mouth for your ego," the Chinese man made his own comeback, making people snicker, trying to hide their laughter. Shinjiro couldn't help but chuckle as well.

As expected, the remark ticked off the entire triad. "Oh you're looking at trouble now. Let's rough him up and feed him to the dogs," the leader declared, an indication fight was about to start. The triad surround the man, but he didn't look threatened, instead pouring another cup of tea. Shinjiro felt the urge to stop, as well as his team and Sakura, but were prevented by Sunnyside.

"I really don't want to find trouble, but alas trouble finds me. Well, there's no alternative, but I have one thing to say," the man said, finally looked up, revealing his eyes. From what Shinjiro see, a very strong determination, yet calmness filled his eyes, but most importantly he could feel an extremely high spiritual power in this man. "Bat jiu joeng ngo satmong."

In quick succession, the man threw his tea in the air, while simultaneously kicking the table to push himself away and grabbing his pole weapon. The two followers converged on him, but just as the got closer, the man kicked one away, while smacked the other face on with his pole weapon. The leader grabbed his knife and attacked him, but he evaded the attack. The momentum of the leader made him trip over himself.

One of the triad recovered and tried to grab him, but it only made himself getting caught. The man, using whatever momentum in his attacker has, flew him into the chair, hard enough that it broke it and knocked him out. The other tried to punch him, but he ducked, giving the second attacker multiple jabs to keep him off-guard him before finished off with a kick powerful enough to send him flying into a vendor stand, also knocking him out.

The leader, gotten himself together, tried to slash the man, but he kicked the knife out of his hand. When the leader regained his composure, he quickly stopped. A blade was sticking dangerously to his neck, held by this man with a pole, out ranging him. In that short span of time after the man kicked the knife out, he pulled a knot on his cloth, loosen it off. As he swung his pole, the cloth came off, revealing the blade on the pole, showing it's a spear.

A second later, his left hand outstretched with his palm facing skyward and his teacup landed perfectly, with all the content intact.

Shinjiro couldn't believe his eyes. In a very short fight, he defeated the triads without a sweat, almost like he's dancing around. It seemed his expression was shared by his team, Kayama and Sakura. Sunnyside, however, only smirked, not at least surprised, but was satisfied.

The man drank the contents and asked, "Do you know what I said beforehand?"

Knowing this man's prowess, the leader shook his head with all his confidence drained. The man continued, giving him a warm yet chilling smirk, "It means 'Don't disappoint me.' From what I expect of you, you didn't disappoint me, not that I have any high expectations. But let this be a lesson to you three idiots."

With that, the man released the leader, letting him fall to his knee. He walked up to the owner of the teashop and gave him a large sum of money. "This should cover the cost of my meal and damages."

Grabbing his belongings, he walked away towards Shinjiro and his team's direction, forcing people to step aside to give a path for the man. As he walked pass Shinjiro, he suddenly looked at him, face to face. Shinjiro was certain he could feel a lot of spiritual power within him, as well as the feeling of someone been fighting for so long. The man's eyes also directed to Sakura for a short time before facing back and walked off. Soon after, a group of police came to the scene, breaking up the crowd. However, Shinjiro was puzzled by this man. It seemed that he himself was watching and analysing him.

"What was that?" Gemini asked Shinjiro, breaking his trance.

"I have no idea, but watching him is like him doing sword dancing, only with people to help him."

"It seemed that he's been fighting throughout his entire life, though even to me, his background is very mysterious," Subaru joined in.

"Not only that, I could feel a level of spiritual power I never heard of within him," Diana giving her thoughts as well.

"Also, his weapon is scary but looks really cool," Rosita added.

"On the other hand, if we have to work with him, it will be a pain," Cheiron commented, judging her perception of this mysterious Chinese man.

"Whatever he is, it's certain he is a very strong fighter," Sunnyside interrupted, "Capable of defeating a battalion of demons even without his Koubu."

"It felt like it. Even an army will have trouble getting pass him without losing more than half of its troops," Kayama agreed before turning to Sakura, "Hey Sakura, what do you think?"

Sakura, however, was in her train of thought, "I could've sworn I've seen him before."

"Sakura?" Shinjiro asked, worried. Sakura was broken out of her thought when her name being called.

"Wha- Oh sorry. What was that?"

"It doesn't matter," Shinjiro said. Deciding to stop the conversation about this man, he started introducing his team, "By the way, this is my team. Everyone, this is Shinguji Sakura."

And so the introductions starts.

* * *

A/N: Apologies if this isn't good enough. I'm pretty much introducing the STAR division and this Chinese man arriving Tokyo.

So this will take place after the events from Sakura Wars 5 OVA. I pretty much watched one entire playthrough of Sakura Wars 5 and did a bit of research on the other Sakura Wars, but I still need to look into it further, so I pretty much need help.

This fanfiction will draw some real life historical context including political, so there will be many references with history, but I will try stay faithful with the series.

Also, I've been trying to do trial and error with this fanfiction. I've been itching to do a Sakura Wars fanfiction, but exams and writer block delayed me a lot. Hopefully I don't wanna disappoint people.

Btw, this character is very important, but for now, he's mysterious.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry for not updating for very long. I've been struggling in uni and suffering a severe case of writer's block. As a result, I haven't been updating ANY of my stories for over nine months.**

 **I'm just gonna get this out of the way. Although this fanfiction is in Sakura Wars Universe and take place years after Sakura Wars 5 OVA, it is more or less influenced by real history, i.e. anything set between 1931 and 1933ish. There will be references of the political and diplomatic climate for East Asia in 1930s, which was and still is glowing hot.**

 **For people who just come here and criticise me for it anyway, this political scene may be big, but it's not the main focus.**

 **There will be multiple characters that are very real in history, though a few are a bit fictional.**

 **You've been warned.**

 **Also, I do not own most characters in this fanfiction; They are owned by SEGA and Red Entertainment. The rest either existed real life and I just pulled from them or OCs I made.**

 **UPDATE: I have changed the name of the Chinese man a bit, as I felt his old one was a bit too generic. Also, I would apologise for calling out those three words from above, which made me look like an idiot.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 - Dragon's Arrival**

6:45pm

Grand Imperial Theatre

 _Dear Sakura and everyone,_

 _Unfortunately I'm not able to come back to Japan in time for our anniversary. This is truly shameful for me as I was looking forward to it, but my hands were full. Sometimes promises and wishes may be broken if it means for the greater good. I hope you understand this._

 _About my time in Europe, things are going well. So far, I've seen their skills improving and bonds growing like trees._ _I've met Ratchet again and this time she's here to support me. She's a very well mannered woman, but to my disappointment and sadness, she's no longer able to use her STAR again. She told me that her STAR was donated elsewhere, although she was never told where exactly. Erica and everyone else from Paris came to support me as well, which put off some loads from me. I've been told Erica was their new captain, which put me a great smile on me as that meant they are united as one._

 _Although I'm very happy here, I'm more concerned with the events around the world. Even though the teams in Europe are doing well, the state of Europe itself is worrying me. After the Great Stock Market Crash, many became homeless and we barely keeping them alive. Germany itself is on the verge of falling apart. Tensions are running high and many are starting to hurt each other. Speaking of America, Ratchet told me America was hit hard and forced many without homes as well. I only hope my nephew Shinjiro is doing fine._

 _But the most worrying part was the country across our sea, China. Things are looking grim as there incidents after incidents plunged her into chaos. Unfortunately, I have no idea what our country is doing, but whatever they are doing, they are definitely and blatantly not helping. I could only wonder who's fighting against evil._

 _Regardless, I can't wait to see you all back in Japan next year. Maybe come visit us if you have time. Well I have to go now, I have to help clean up a mess after Erica caused a chain reaction._

 _Signed_

 _Oogami Ichiro_

"Sakura, you still reading that letter?" a girl voice asked her. In front of Sakura was now a beautiful young woman, Iris. She grew mature, but still has the habit of returning to her young self.

"Oh no, I've just finished. Do you want to read it?" Both giggled for a bit.

"Sakura, you met your nephew and his team from New York. How are they?"

"They're an odd bunch." She paused a bit to watch Iris' expression. Sure enough, her expression was tilting her head in a bit of confusion. "Just like us." Once again, both laughed. However, once they stopped, Iris turned form being happy to depressed.

"I wish he's still here."

Sakura understood who she referred to. "I know, but his hands are full. Maybe we can visit him like when we visited while he was helping in Paris."

"Hey Sakura, Iris, are you ready?" a voice came along. Both looked and saw Kanna, already in her costume, standing by the door to the stage.

"Oh, we both ready!" Sakura answered as she stood up and followed Kanna, with Iris following them behind.

* * *

Grand Imperial Theatre

"Wow, it's beautiful!" Gemini exclaimed in her excitement. Everyone else agreed.

While Shinjiro was excited, he was nervous at the same time. Even though he met Sakura a few times in his life, he hasn't seen her other team members in person. He was told how much was changed in Tokyo, but he hasn't seen it himself.

"What's the matter, Shin? Scared?" Cheiron mocked him a little.

The only response was Shinjiro jumping, breaking his trance, "What? Oh, not really, just..." He looked back at the theatre. Not trusting his words, he felt scared to go in.

"Didn't you hear what Sakura said? She and her team's waiting for us! Come on!" Rosita shouted as she ran up. Cheiron and Diana chased after her into the building.

"Hey Shiny, there's nothing to be afraid. It's like going into Little Lips Theater, right?" Gemini pulled herself alongside her leader. Her face was filled with confidence.

Shinjiro looked at her for a good second before smiling, having his confidence restored, "I guess you're right."

"Well come on Shiny! I'll see you up there!" Gemini shouted as she ran up to the theatre as well.

Shinjiro about to chase her before he noticed someone didn't went up yet. "Subaru, what's wrong."

Subaru, standing at her spot the whole time, fanned herself, "It's nothing. Just..."

"I know what you're thinking. It's them right? Ratchet told me her time when she saw them again."

Subaru looked at him with surprise, "She did?"

"The two didn't have ill-will to her, so I'm pretty sure they don't have any to you as well."

She looked at him with wide eyes before giving a warm smile, "I guess you're right. Come, let's go."

As the two walked up the steps into the theatre, the man just arrived at the theatre. None of the two groups noticed each other. He took one look at the theatre and sighed.

"Grand Imperial Theatre. A grand jewel for Tokyo. Wishing they are seeing this in person." He grabbed a photo from his pocket. On the photo has three boys and two girls smiling. On the left was him, at least his younger self. He was all smiling and cheerful, contrasting what he is now.

"So you were the one that created a mess in Chinatown."

His trance was cut, but he didn't showed any reaction. He was surprised, but he stood there like a rock and that surprise wore off a fraction of second later.

"They deserved it. Such welcoming party you sent me, Kaede," he replied sarcastically.

"I'm sure we'll compensate for that," Kaede said back, also with a hint of sarcasm. "Welcome to Tokyo." He smiled at her comment, amused by it.

"Kaede! The show's about to start!" a woman shouted from the door.

"Just a minute, Kasumi!" Kaede replied before turning back to this man.

"Let's save chit chat for later," he said as he began to walk up the steps.

"Do you still have the show's ticket with you?"

The Chinese man showed her the ticket, "Not like I threw it out the ship, didn't I?"

Kaede giggled at his sarcastic reply, "Thought you would. Come, I'll show you your VIP seat."

* * *

Unknown Place

"Even if he lost one of his comrade, he still wouldn't give up. He does live up to his element at least."

A meeting was being held in some kind of old-looking building from the Three Kingdom Era, but unknown to normal human being, this building cannot be seen by normal naked eye. In front of the doors was guarded by two guard, both that doesn't look human. From the looks of it, they don't seem to be on the good side.

"But even so, why would he throw away his pride just to ask the pathetic Japanese to help him."

"It's not just them, it looks like another team from America just arrived at Japan. Besides, even he knows that fighting against us himself would be suicidal for minimal profit. Unlike you."

"What?! You saying that I'm a suicidal bastard! I know more fighting than you! You just have smaller balls that can't take the heat!"

"Just because you keep throwing away many of our troops doesn't mean it will achieve anything! You are one of the reason we lost that battle! You're better off dead than alive!"

"You bastard!" One of the general unsheathes his sword, but before he could slice the other general's head, another sword clanged onto his sword, stopping him.

"Both of you, control your anger later! You two are just children arguing over a toy! You, withdraw your sword!"

The general with his sword hesitated at first then withdrawing his sword back to his sheathe. The other general with his sword went back to his seat, withdrawing his sword. It was at this point the person at the front of the table, who was watching the meeting the whole time, spoke up.

"General, while throwing away many of our troops is undoubtedly foolish and short sighted, I still have value with you. Your aggressiveness may not work against our real enemy, it still strikes fear against the other army. Many ran away rather than face our might and only the bravest like him can stand. While they can still win, sooner or later, they can't sustain these losses."

It was at this point another person, holding a feather fan, spoke up, "Yes General, he may be strong, but who can help him if they keep going the other way. Only a selected few fully understands Sun Tzu's tactics and most of his allies aren't. I doubt his future allies are the same."

Everyone else nodded, but the calm general who stopped the other general attack shook his head. The person with a feather fan noticed. "You seem to be troubled. Speak out."

"They may not have the experience and capabilities as he has, but they still have the same will as he does. After all they already defeated multiple enemies."

"The enemies they face aren't like us. We'll show them before they even set foot on a boat to China."

The leader on the front nodded in agreement, "Yes, that's what in my mind. We will attack them and show our power they have never seen before."

"That's right, but not at the obvious place though," the person with a feather fan continued, a smile on the face, "Tokyo is too obvious, but we do know where they will depart for China." The fan pointed at a point on the map on the table. Everyone nodded in agreement.

Well everyone but the general who objected. Under the table, his hands became a fist on his knees. Unbeknownst to him, the leader noticed and was aware of his expression.

* * *

" _Thank you for attending our New Years Performance at Grand Imperial Theatre! We appreciate your patronage..._ "

This was what this man heard before drowning in his thoughts while walking out of the theatre room. Memories flooded in his head as he sees himself as his younger self in front of the light. But more importantly was the smile on his face he had, as if he can still remember his innocence of a child. And he wasn't holding a weapon, just a pole. It's as if he's performing like the Flower Division he watched earlier, except he was.

 _Why am I thinking of them now?_

"Are you ok?" a woman asked, snapping out of his thoughts. Because he just left the theatre room, he didn't have his hat on, so he can see who was talking to him more easily. The woman in front of him looked like someone that works in the theatre, so it was natural she ask about any problems that any patron might be suffering.

"Huh? Uh, _hai hai_ ," he replied. Only then he noticed he just spat out his language.

The woman looked at him, a bit confused, "Is that a yes, sir?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. By the way, thanks for the performance," he replied, this time in her language.

Surprised, she gave a warm smile, "It's a pleasure for our patrons. We'll see you at a later time."

He was about walk away, before he just remembered something important. As in why he's here. "Actually, I like to find the manager's office. Do you know where it is?"

The woman looked at him, a little more confused, "Sorry?"

Getting a bit annoyed, he asked again, this time clearly in perfectly legible Japanese, "Do you know where is the manager's office?"

It took only few seconds before she realised what he was asking about, "Ooh, you want to see the manager. Unfortunately, he's away on a trip. We do have an acting manager in his place. Do you want to see her instead?"

 _That's a bummer. He's gone_ _,_ he thought. _Then again, I'm expected to meet up with whoever's in charge._ "That will do," he replied, giving her a smile.

"Let me show you the way," she said, leading him the way.

* * *

Manager's Office

"So we supposed to be expecting this man?" a woman asked. She's seated behind a large table, meaning she's the current manager of the theatre. She looked over files, puzzled over the information given. In front of her was an old man and another woman.

"Ah yes, this man. He's remarkable, isn't he, Maria?" the man remarked with a smile on his face.

Maria could only frown at that remark, "Remarkable, but he's no Oogami. But why are we doing this anyway, Yoneda?"

"You mean helping China? It's to show our goodwill isn't it?" Yoneda replied back.

"I'm pretty sure our government just want to tell the Chinese how superior they are. The Chinese are just as prideful. Besides, isn't he enough."

It was then Kaede spoke up, "He's one man people dreamed to be, but he's still one man. They do have a new recruit, but they just got her. They said she's not yet ready, and even if she is, two isn't going to be enough. That's why we offered to help. Besides, I saw him earlier and beneath his eyes lay a war-torn man. We should give him some slack."

The only thing Maria did was leaning back on her seat, breathing in deeply. It was then the door knocked. "Manager, a man wanted to see you."

"That's him," Kaede nodded.

Maria nodded back, "Alright, let him in."

The door opened, revealing a late-twenties man in his Chinese attire holding a pole with his belonging in his cloth wrapped at the end. He stepped in and let the woman close the door behind him. Yoneda and Kaede turned to meet his gaze.

"You must be..." Maria began the conversation.

The Chinese man let his belongings lean against the wall and gave his fist-and-palm salute, " _Guan HuangChen_! Member of Shanghai Dragon Troupe!"

The only response was Yoneda scratching his back, "Geez, you sure are uptight. You remind me of that man when he first arrived."

Maria only smiled at him, knowing who he's referring to. She decided to continue, "In any case, we honoured to have one of the most senior member of Shanghai Dragon Troupe as our guest in our great theatre."

He let his arms go down, giving a smile, "It's an honour for me to visit this theatre and witness once-in-a-life chance to witness the performance of the Flower Division."

Yoneda smirked and returned a palm-and-fist gesture, "The honour is ours."

"We'll save some chatter at the party. For now, I want to ask an important question: Are they're ready?"


End file.
